Beginning in 2011, with the 78th annual AYF-YOARF Convention, the AYF Central Executive has put forth a Call to Action every year to inspire ideas and direction, and push its membership to act.
The Calls to Action have been related to the “Tebi Javakhk” initiative, Artsakh, boosting the ARF ranks, and revamping our Juniors.
At the 80th annual Convention in 2013, the highest legislative body of the AYF voted for the Call to Action to be approved at Convention each year, instead of disseminated by the CE over the following months. This 2014 Call to Action reflects that resolution.
As the centennial of the Armenian Genocide is quickly approaching, the 2013 AYF Convention has made the following the “theme” for the organization in 2014: the 100th Anniversary and Western Armenia.
The preparation for the 100th started long before 2014, but the AYF felt as though the year preceding 2015 should focus almost entirely on the plans and goals for the centennial. The Convention voted to include Western Armenia in the Call to Action, too, because a major focus for the 100th is legal justice, reparations for stolen lands, and rediscovering our ancestral roots.
The Convention also put forth resolutions focusing on increased collaboration among the AYF’s central committees, namely the CHTC and CEC, in conjunction with the CE. It also deemed it necessary to work closely with the ANCA Eastern Region in 2014 and beyond, as well as with other sister organizations to maintain a unified front. This also means working to foster sustainable relationships with other ethnic and human rights groups, such as Jews, Greeks, Kurds, Assyrians, and the like.
To accomplish this 2014 theme, and as voted on at 2013 Convention, the AYF as a whole will:
1. plan and execute region-wide events for the 100th anniversary, both on our own as the AYF and with sister organizations;
2. educate our membership on any and all 100th anniversary plans, as well as on Western Armenia, throughout the year;
3. keep the members who serve on CHTC in 2014 on the same committee in 2015 for continuity and to keep the flow of knowledge intact for the centennial; and
4. reach out to people of non-Armenian descent—including Turks, Azeris, Jews, Greeks, Kurds, and Assyrians, activists, and those who support democratic rights for all people—to participate in the centennial.
The 100th anniversary is a once-in-a-lifetime event. It is imperative that the AYF establishes itself as a leader in the planning and execution of this memorable and historic occasion. To do so, the entire organization needs to unite and take on the workload. The Central Executive, as the highest administrative body of the AYF, will lead the organization, but AYF members must work together to accomplish these goals. It is vital that we involve our local communities, our friends, and potential friends in executing these plans and broadening our scope of impact.
The AYF-YOARF was created to help the youth of the Armenian Diaspora preserve their roots and remain Armenian. Involving the entire Eastern Region—as well as our fellow North American regions and beyond—in the planning of the 100th anniversary is the ideal way to do this and to bring our youth together in ways that perhaps have never been done before. We play a key role in each of our communities, in this country and throughout the world, and taking ownership of our responsibilities in these goals will benefit not only us, but also the posterity of the Armenian cause and the homeland.
The years 2014 and 2015 are turning points for all Armenians and for global consciousness. We cannot afford, as a people, to shy away from initiative or innovation. Each Armenian has value, and all AYF members must bring their skillsets to the table to advance our goals and beliefs as an independent and united Armenian nation.
We urge all our members to read and understand this circular carefully and steer their chapters in the direction laid out for the AYF-YOARF Eastern Region.
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AYF,
The 2015 Observance of the Armenian Genocide is much more than a ” memorial for 1.5 million Armenians” gives me hope that our goals for all Armenians will suceed. As human atrocities continue, all human lives lost in all the massacres, genocides,holdamor,holocaust and mass murders, are in vane. When the memory of 1,500,000 can not save, at least, 1 life in the 21 ST century, we have lost.
Working with other ethnic groups that share the same pain,frustration and loss as Armenians is long over-do.
Thank you,
John Bezjian